A man who was required to register as a sex offender because of a change in state law must continue to register even though his conviction occurred more than 25 years ago, Wyoming’s Supreme Court has ruled. … At the time of his conviction, ____ was not required to register as a sex offender because the victim was over 16. However, state law changed in 2007 to require registration by those convicted of third-degree sexual assault regardless of the age of the victim. … However, justices said ____ did not…
Read MoreTag: State Supreme Court
MN: High Court Weighs Boundaries of Sex Offender Self-Incrimination
The Minnesota Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in the case of a man who claims sex-offense confessions made to his probation officer as part of a court-mandated program are protected by the Fifth Amendment. Full Article
Read MorePA: Supreme Court rules 2nd Generation Registration non-punitive
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Opinion holding that Pennsylvania’s second-generation sex offense registration statute is non-punitive and thus ex post facto challenges against it fail. Case Summary and Details
Read MoreIL: High court upholds ban on sex offenders in parks
The state’s criminal code completely bars child sex offenders from entering public parks, despite an exception written into a similar but separate part of the law, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled last week. The 5-2 majority held that the exception in Section 11-9.3(a-10) of the Illinois Criminal Code of 2012, which allows child sex offenders to visit public parks with their minor children when other minor children are present, cannot be read into Section 11-9.4-1(b), which prohibits a child sex offender from “knowingly be[ing] present in any public park.” Full…
Read MorePA: Commonwealth v. Torsilieri
Nature of Case: Mr. Torsilieri — the Appellee in this case — was convicted of a sex offense and, as such, was required to register as a sex offender under Pennsylvania’s sex offense registration scheme. He brought a post-conviction challenge alleging that, because Pennsylvania’s sex offense registration law essentially used an irrebutable presumption of dangerousness that if violated several constitutional provisions related to punishment as well as state constitutional provisions protecting reputation. The trial court agreed, and and held that based on expert evidence adducing that re-offense rates were lower,…
Read MoreUT: Supreme Court strikes down law allowing sex abuse lawsuits
The Utah Supreme Court has struck down a state law that allowed victims of sexual abuse to sue decades later, siding against a woman who alleged a former federal judge raped her when she was a teenage witness and he an attorney prosecuting a white supremacist serial killer. The state’s high court ruled the 2016 law unconstitutional, finding the Utah Legislature did not have the authority to effectively erase statutes of limitation after they already timed out. “The problems presented in a case like this one are heart-wrenching. We have…
Read MoreMI: AG files Amicus Brief Stating that SORA is Punitive and Unconstitutional
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an Amicus Brief on Jan 30 in People vs. Betts, Supreme Court No. 148981 . Introduction: There are dangerous sexual predators, to be sure, and the public needs to be protected from them. But the current SORA it is not the way to achieve that goal because it places people on the registry without an individualized assessment of their risk to public safety. Indeed, it provides little differentiation between a violent rapist or reoffender and an individual who has committed a single, non-aggravated offense.…
Read MoreGA: Lawmakers seek sex predator tracking bill that’s constitutional
Georgia legislators aim to close a loophole that’s now preventing the state from using ankle monitors to track more than 400 sex offenders. Some House and Senate lawmakers are backing legislation that would give judges the ability to impose lifetime electronic monitoring as part of someone’s sentence if a sex offender is deemed to have a strong chance of reoffending. The proposals follow a Georgia Supreme Court ruling that it is unconstitutional for the state to require around-the-clock GPS tracking after the felony sex offender has completed their sentence. Full…
Read MorePA: Sex offender registry law in Pa. facing life-or-death test at Supreme Court
The landmark Pennsylvania law that for nearly a quarter of a century has required a public registry of sex offenders and community notification about their whereabouts is facing a life-or-death challenge before the state’s highest court. Full Article Related PA: Attorney General – Cases could jeopardize Megan’s Law sex offenders registry
Read MoreAK: Supreme Court declares law requiring all sex offenders to register unconstitutional
The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s sex offender registry law violates offenders’ right to due process. In an opinion handed down Friday, the court — voting 3-2 — found the law requiring all offenders to register unconstitutional unless offenders are first given the opportunity to demonstrate they aren’t a danger to the public. Full Article Decision
Read MoreIA: Iowa Supreme Court rules requiring sex offenders to report social media presence is not a First Amendment violation
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that requiring sex offenders to disclose their social media identities and other digital information does not violate their free speech rights. Five of the seven justices agreed that the requirement, part of the state’s sex offender registry, was put in place a decade ago to protect children and victims from possible abuse but was not a “proxy for content regulations.” Justice Thomas Waterman’s opinion emphasized that sex offenders aren’t required to disclose their passwords and aren’t prevented from participating in social media. Full Article Opinion
Read MoreMA: Mandatory GPS monitoring of some sex offenders violates privacy rights
Convicted sex offenders retain a constitutional right to privacy, and those rights are being violated by a state law mandating that everyone convicted of some sex crimes wear a GPS monitoring bracelet as part of their sentence, the state’s highest court ruled Tuesday. Full Article
Read MoreDenying Bail
The Arizona Supreme Court got it right: categorical denials of bail to persons charged with sexual assault violates the Constitution. Full Article Also see Is a Categorical Denial of Bail for Accused Sex Offenders Constitutional?
Read MoreNC: High court weighs if tracking sex offenders reasonable
North Carolina’s Supreme Court is re-evaluating whether forcing sex offenders to be perpetually tracked by GPS-linked devices, sometimes for the rest of their lives, is justified or a Constitution-violating unreasonable search. The state’s highest court next month takes up the case of repeat sex offender Torrey Grady. It comes three years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his case that mandating GPS ankle monitors for ex-cons is a serious privacy concern. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Texas Supreme Court to hear sex offender law challenge
The Texas Supreme Court will consider a challenge to the state’s retroactive sex offender laws that some say unfairly stack new punishments on those convicted in plea deals. Full Article Related TX: For some sex offenders, their deal with the state wasn’t really a deal
Read MoreAK: Court – Some sex offenders don’t have to register
In a decision that combined two cases pending before the court, justices said a strict reading of the 1994 Alaska Sex Offender Registration Act does not grant the Alaska Department of Public Safety leeway when determining whether an out-of-state sex crime matches an illegal act under state law. Until the decision, it was up to DPS to determine whether someone convicted of a sex crime outside Alaska would be required to enter their names into Alaska’s sex offender database if they moved here. Now, it’s not clear what standards will…
Read MoreMA: Court Recognizes Harm to Registrants, Rules in Their Favor
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Council, the state’s supreme court, has ruled in favor of registrants who were trying either to terminate their duty to register or to change the tier level on which they were situated. In doing so, the Court recognized that there are significant challenges facing registrants including stigma and legal restrictions that make it more difficult to find stable housing or employment. The Court also recognized that the effects of registration are “continuing, intrusive, and humiliating” and could lead to threats of physical harm. Further, the Court…
Read MorePA: Sex predator law challenged by Cosby to get court review
Pennsylvania’s highest court will consider whether the state can lawfully designate certain sex offenders as sexually violent predators, as it’s seeking to do in the case of Bill Cosby. Cosby’s attorneys also are challenging the constitutionality of the law. But the state Supreme Court’s decision Tuesday to review the statute was made in response to an appeal by the state in a different case, not Cosby’s challenge. A lower court judge had found the process by which offenders are deemed predators unconstitutional. Full Article
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